Wicked Appetite, by Janet Evanovich is a funny little story of inherited talents (ability to find magic gizmos and enhanced muffinry, for particular examples), magic talismans, dangerous magicians and distractingly handsome men combining to throw our fearful[0] protagonist Lizzie Tucker into a maelstrom of magic. Also, there’s a fruitcake with a sword[1].

An evil magician[3] seeks Lizzie’s peculiar talent (the location one, not the muffin one) to find seven stone embodying the Seven Deadly Sins[tm], which will allow him to unleash Hell On Earth[tm]. Lizzie doesn’t think that a good idea, but evil magicians can be very persuasive[4].

She is saved from persuasion by Diesel, a kind of a beach bum lookin’ dude[5] with a certain weird charm and with inherited talents also, none of which involve muffins. Lizzie and Diesel get their hands on the first part of the Gluttony stone, which hilariously derails normality by making everything about food, punishment or hoarding (depending on who has the thing).

Lizzie is helped by her friend Gloria and her discount book of spells, which also hilariously derail conversation. For this part I strongly suggest the audiobook, so you can hear Lorelei King deliver gibberish. I would pay full price for this audiobook for that alone.

The link above is to Amazon, but this is available at sfpl.org, where the cognoscenti get their books for free.

10% Happier, by Dan Harris is the story of ABS anchorman Dan Harris’ journey through Buddhism to mindfulness in the most torturous of routes: trial and error from Eckhard Tolle, Deepak Chopra and a host of what he calls affectionately “Jew-Bus”, Jewish people who have come to embrace Buddhist practices (Harris is Jewish). In his guise of newsman he cheats his way into getting real answers to the deep mystery: how do you meditate, and why (he even got face time with the Dalai Lama along the way, which is not that easy).

The real juicy part of this book is not so much who he met or how he learned this or that thing, but his blow-by-blow account of his thoughts and reactions as he began learning meditation. Especially interesting was his reaction to a ten-day Zen retreat of six-hour daily meditation, wherein he finally felt he “got it” and later the emotional outpouring he experience when meditating upon compassion for the first time.

The reason I loved this book is that his story resonates closely with my own, especially the embarrassing awareness of the banality of my own thoughts, the ease of distraction and the lack of rigor in focus or awareness of anything but the voice in my head. That, and I’m hoping to get a little guidance on my own practice, and I think this book helped.

The link above goes to the Audible audiobook version, but it is also available at sfpl.org. I do recommend the audiobook, as it is read by him and guarantees his nuances will not be misunderstood (c.f., “Jew-Bus”, above).

Some of my readers know I am renovating my house to rent and spend long days doing repetitive work like sanding and painting and minor repairs. Little of this involves thought, so I listen to audiobooks. I liked the ones I have been listening to, so here goes:

The Girl with All the Gifts, by M.R. Careyis the most horrible horror book I have read in a long long time. The things the UK Army does to a classroom full of children infected with the zombie parasite makes you wonder if the monsters are inside the fence instead of outside. This juicy little novel posits that the parasite involved in creating zombies is a strain Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (a fungus infects an ant, whereupon the insect becomes compelled to climb down to one of the lower leaves and clamp down with its mandibles until it dies. The fungus consumes the ant’s tissues — all except for the muscles controlling the mandibles — and grows inside of it. After a couple of weeks, the fungal spores fall to the ground to infect more ants. Ants infected by this particular fungus are often called “zombie ants.”), and the sciency-flavored horror is lovingly detailed and acted well by the narrator. Most highly recommended, and very depressing.

Exciting update: there is to be a movie made:

The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossmanis likewise well-acted by its narrator, but is in another vein entirely. This novel (part three of the series and probably the last) follows the adventures of a skilled magician after banishment from Fillory (the lamb version of the lion Aslan’s Narnia). Unlike magicians of other books, this one grows up to be thirty-something, copes with his father’s death (natural causes–this ain’t J.K. Rowling), stops drinking, resurrects his dead girlfriend, kills a couple of gods and creates two new worlds.

I know this makes him sound like an overachiever, but Grossman tells it so well you just go with it. Spectacular use of language; most highly recommended, not depressing at all.

Exciting update: there is a TV series. I would have learned this sooner, but I don’t watch TV (much. I have seen most of Person of Interest).

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaimanis another horror book read by him which is a real treat, as he is very good. The horror is that of a young boy haunted by an elemental spirit of some kind and is pretty terrifyingly brought to life. He has a couple of kindly neighbors who help him with this, and they seem pretty competent so far. One of them is eleven years old…although at one point the boy asks “How long have you been eleven?”